Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 31

Devanagari script

शतं चांडालनद्गीर्णा पुलिंदीनां सहस्रकम् । शैलूषीणां पंचशतं रजकीनां चतुःशतम्

Transliteration

śataṃ cāṃḍālanadgīrṇā puliṃdīnāṃ sahasrakam | śailūṣīṇāṃ paṃcaśataṃ rajakīnāṃ catuḥśatam

Translation

A hundred women of the Cāṇḍāla communities, a thousand Pulindī women, five hundred women of the performers, and four hundred washerwomen—(thus too) I counted among those I wronged.

Word by Word

• शतम्: a hundred
• शतम्: Karma (Count/measure object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• चाण्डालनद्गीर्णाः: Caṇḍāla-nadgīrṇā women (text uncertain)
• चाण्डालनद्गीर्णाः: Karta (Subject/implicit counted class)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चाण्डाल (प्रातिपदिक) + नद (प्रातिपदिक) + गीर्ण (कृदन्त)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (women swallowed/consumed by a Caṇḍāla river?); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा बहुवचन; पाठ/अर्थ अनिश्चित (textually difficult)

• पुलिंदीनाम्: of Pulindī women
• पुलिंदीनाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुलिन्दी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• सहस्रकम्: a thousand (set)
• सहस्रकम्: Karma (Count/measure object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्रक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; लघु-प्रत्ययान्त (diminutive/collective)

• शैलूषीणाम्: of actress/dancer women
• शैलूषीणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शैलूषी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• पञ्चशतम्: five hundred
• पञ्चशतम्: Karma (Count/measure object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पञ्च (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + शत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विगुसमास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• रजकीनाम्: of washerwomen
• रजकीनाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रजकी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• चतुःशतम्: four hundred
• चतुःशतम्: Karma (Count/measure object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुर् (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + शत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विगुसमास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

Speaker

Unknown (a male narrator confessing misdeeds; not identifiable from snippet alone)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Confession continues with lists of communities; the visual should avoid stereotyping—use symbolic representation: diverse groups as silhouettes under the same dharma-wheel, with the king’s shadow falling over them.

Characters & Entities

• cāṇḍāla
• pulinda
• śailūṣa
• rajakī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Adharma harms without regard to social category, but karma likewise spares none—wrongdoing leads to inevitable retribution.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is referenced in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.